Sunday, 13 October 2013

MANILA -- Veteran broadcast journalist Cheche Lazaro tackles homosexuality and its many permutations in a two-hour documentary that weaves the points of view of people with same-sex attraction, their families, and the sectors that either support or reject them.

According to study of two nationwide surveys eight years ago, one in every four Filipinos would not want to have lesbians and gay men as neighbors.

Twenty eight percent of the respondents also considered their sexuality as something "unjustifiable."

The following year, 2006, and three years later, 2009, a government institution gave flesh to the negative attitude of many Filipinos toward the gay community.

The Commission on Elections shut the door on the Filipino lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) by denying the application for accreditation of the party-list group Ang Ladlad, the LGBT political party.

Ladlad was disqualified to run in the 2007 elections for failing to prove its nationwide membership, while their petition in 2010 was junked on grounds of immorality.

But the Supreme Court intervened and gave Ladlad the go-signal to join the 2010 elections. The LGBT political party, whose advocacy equal rights among all Filipinos, failed to make it.

Over the years, the Filipino perception of the gay community has found expression in a number of ways – discrimination in terms of employment, bullying in schools, harassment in work places, and in some cases, grisly murders.

Yet, despite the risks, a number of personalities have come out of the closet to be counted as part of a “growing” community in search of their own truths after years of living a lie.

In time with the an internationally observed National Coming Out Day this month, "Cheche Lazaro Presents" takes a deeper look into the world of the LGBTs and their struggle for acceptance in the special documentary, which airs on Sunday after "Gandang Gabi Vice" on ABS-CBN.

Former child star and singer Aiza Seguerra talks about her journey of acceptance, while gay comedian Ogie Diaz gives a peek into his 13-year blissful marriage that has produced four daughters.

A woman narrates how science has helped her own transformation into a man while her very conservative father looks back at how his family dealt with the situation.

A bisexual ordained as a minister and will be installed as a pastor, and a married lesbian couple share their views about love and family. Eight gay men way past their prime complete the tales of joys and pains of being “different.”

Joining the discourse are experts from various fields – a psychologist, geneticist, sex realignment doctor, human rights activist and priests.